Interview: Patrick Rafter 9 May 2000
Bohdan Ulihrach d. Patrick Rafter 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Q. Pat, is it a question of coming back little by little this time and getting it right, especially on the clay?
PATRICK RAFTER: Yeah, I mean I was hitting the ball all right. I found I was able to put one and a half, two sets together, then I've been falling away a little bit. The conditions out there weren't really that favorable for me to play my solid game, and Bohdan really exposed that in the end. "It's just a lot tougher here."  
Q. Was it about as slow and heavy as it can get after all that rain?
PATRICK RAFTER: Yeah, it was pretty heavy, and a few of my serves that I like to do weren't working on the court today. I tried to mix it up, but I found that you had to serve very, very close to the lines and very hard. And that's not really generally the way I like to play. 
Q. What is the state of your shoulder right now? Is it completely fine or...?
PATRICK RAFTER: Oh, no, it's still got a ways to go. But today out there was -- there was no excuse for the shoulder. It felt fine during the match. I probably will find weaknesses as the week goes on and if I'm winning matches. I haven't really gone that far yet, but it will be interesting to see what happens when I get into the five-set matches.
Q. What's the longest workout you've given it on a practice court other than the match today?
PATRICK RAFTER: The other day I hit about three and a half hours, and during the Davis Cup we were training pretty intensively. It's just a matter of after one heavy day it's just hard to pull up the next day.  But in the three-set matches, it's been fine, like Lipton -- sorry, excuse me, Ericsson. (Laughter.)  Ericsson was a tournament where it felt fine. 
Q. Is the weather a factor for your shoulder or not?
PATRICK RAFTER: It just makes it heavier and you feel like you have to hit the ball a bit harder, only for that reason. But it's not good when you stop and start all the time. But, I mean, it only happened once today so it was fine. 
Q. So with the French and Wimbledon now on the horizon, what do you give your chances at being 100 percent right with the shoulder by then? 
PATRICK RAFTER: Only time will tell I think. We'll just wait and see.
Q. How confident are you about your chances?
PATRICK RAFTER: I -- maybe -- I have no idea. I really don't. I'm hoping it will be right - definitely be right by Wimbledon, but there's a lot of factors that are going to occur before then. 
Q. Why exactly didn't you play between the Davis Cup and now? Is it because of the shoulder or because of other things?
PATRICK RAFTER: I had enough, I'm glad to say. (Laughter.) Yeah, my shoulder.
Q. So really, you're still kind of shooting in the dark, are you? 
PATRICK RAFTER: Well, for instance, I mean today it was okay. I mean it was-- there's no excuses for the shoulder today. And every match I've played recently has been pretty good, probably the last half dozen matches I've played have been good. So... So far, so good. But I am a little bit wary about the five-setters. I'll only know when I get into one. That's all the shoulder questions. 
Q. So if the shoulder is fine, why after one and a half sets does it seem to
go a little bit amiss?
PATRICK RAFTER: It didn't. I went amiss.
Q. I'm not talking about that part of your body that's around there. Why did you go amiss?
PATRICK RAFTER: I was serving very well in the first set and a half, and I -- it was hard to keep that standard of serving up. I kept it in the corners when I needed to, and I hit some really big second serves. It was just a matter of time before his return game would sort of take over in those conditions. It's heavy, slow and you need to serve near the corners. It's very different from here last year, and the balls are heavier, the conditions are a lot heavier. And it's hard for me to play my solid game. All in all, I was pretty happy with it. I played okay.
Q. A little bit of conditioning perhaps?
PATRICK RAFTER: Yeah, I was -- I was, you know, I was holding out there in the match. I was struggling. And that's always been a part of my game that's been pretty strong. And since the injury, I've found it hard to get motivated, hard to do -- it's hard for me to do the work again. I've definitely slipped back on my conditioning and my fitness, and I've got to try to find that motivation to get me through, you know, for the rest of the year because it's a very long year coming up.
Q. So what's next for you before the French?
PATRICK RAFTER: Well, I'll go to Hamburg, we have the World Team Cup after that, and then the French Open. So I hope to, you know, to pick up a couple of good matches anyway and just a bit of confidence would be nice. 
Q. This time last year you came about as close as a serve-and-volleyer could get to winning this thing. Given the conditions - the weather's not going to be like this every day - but the balls and everything, is it tantamount or possible for a serve-and-volleyer to win this?
PATRICK RAFTER: It's just a lot tougher here. I've always said in order for me to do very well on the clay, the weather has to be good, the weather has to be hot, it has to be flying, the balls have to be light, and last year was just -- and you have to be playing well and get the breaks. Last year everything happened for me, and I just ran into someone who was just too good on the day in Kuerten. When the conditions are like this, I'm always a little skeptical of how I'm going to go. It's just trying to do my best and work it out and generally come off losing.

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Newsweek Champions Cup Patrick defeated by Alex Corretja  16 March 2000 ATP
GREG SHARKO: Questions for Patrick. 
Q: Certainly you'd be disappointed, but I guess you can still take a fair amount of heart out of the fight you put up today and the last couple of days. 
RAFTER: Yeah, not really that disappointed. I guess in a way. Yeah, I'm just really happy to be hitting the ball pretty well. Shoulder felt okay. You know, I've come away from this match feeling pretty good about myself, yeah. "Alex served well. That's probably the one thing that won him tonight."  
Q: You were able to stay with him from the back court pretty well.
RAFTER: Not too bad. I thought Alex played really well tonight. Sort of hard for me to gauge, because I haven't been on the tour for a while, how my game is right now compared to the rest of the guys. I thought I played pretty well. I was really impressed with the way Alex played as well. I don't know if he said the same.
Q: Very much so.
RAFTER: Beauty (laughter). 
Q: When it came down to it, what will you pick out as being the one thing that made the difference?
RAFTER: He served well today. I've only played him here five years ago, but I would have thought going out on the court that I had a bit better chance of putting more pressure on his serve tonight. I didn't really get that. Alex served well. That's probably the one thing that won him tonight. 
Q: He suggested that perhaps because you've not played much, towards the end that you might have been getting a wee bit tired.
RAFTER: No, the fitness was okay. It was just the serve. The first two or three serves I served in each game were very flat, nothing on it. It starts to get fatigued, a little bit sore. After I've warmed it up, I'll start popping it a little bit. I wasn't really going for it the first few serves because the shoulders didn't want to. I felt like I was behind in each of my service games. But physically, I felt pretty good. I think I continued to move pretty well throughout the match. It's very hard to go out knowing you're probably going to be down the first couple of points. Puts too much pressure on your serve, I find
Q: In Delray you were kind of just back, weren't sure how long it was going to take you to be back at your peak. Do you have any more of a sense now? Still too early?
RAFTER: Maybe, you know, after Davis Cup, another three or four weeks. I hope for it to be, you know, good and strong, and I can last three solid sets anyway. But, you know, it's still a day-to-day thing. I won't really know. I'll know when it's ready. Right now, I'm just happy to keep it working and I think it will build the strength up as I play more and more these sort of matches. 
Q: If there's any one thing that you felt you really had to build on in this comeback, what would that be? Would it just be down to a case of match practice?
RAFTER: At this stage, I think it's pretty well just the shoulder. I think if I have a hundred percent confidence in my shoulder, I think I'd have a lot more confidence in my game. You know, I don't often come into a press
conference feeling really good about myself after I've lost. So when I start coming in here being really upset and pissed off, that's when you know that I feel like I'm back (laughter). 
Q: He said he's a baseliner, likes to play against a guy like yourself who is coming up. Do you like to play against a strict baseliner or would you rather play against a guy who you can hit some passing shots?
RAFTER: No, I prefer to play a baseliner, yeah, because if someone serve-volleys, chip-charges all the time, it stops me from playing a bit more of my style of game. When I play Sampras, he first and second serves all the
time, he doesn't allow me to play my game. Someone like Alex, we match up pretty well against each other. He likes me to come in; I like him to stay back. We're generally going to have a pretty good match-up. 
Q: Are you surprised that only 6 of 16 seeds survive?
RAFTER: No. It's just so competitive these days. It's good to see. It's been a while since I've been back on and playing. I think the game is starting to get more and more character to it, is what I see. These tournaments, I don't know how many direct entrants, 64 I guess, 64 guys that are all very competitive and very close. You've got Goran who wasn't even in the main draw, is a draw card, a character. It's just good for the game. He's outside that ranking. I think we've got a good 20 or 30 guys on the tour now that are making it a lot of fun. The other guys can go out there and beat you on any given day, as well. I think it's just really good.
Q: What part of your game takes longer to come into the fold, the serve-and-volley part or the baseline part of your game?
RAFTER: The baseline I don't really care about too much. Just try to get it over. Serve-and-volley is what I really need to work on, a few little particulars of that. If I'm serving and volleying well, the rest of the game
will take care of itself. I think obviously serve-and-volley is what I've got to work on.
END--FastScripts by ASAP Sports.
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Patrick Rafter  Newsweek Champions Cup Tuesday 15 March 2000
P. RAFTER / M. Ondruska
6-3, 7-6

MIKI SINGH: Pat wins today 3-6. Next up is Alex Corretja. They played here in 1995, which Pat won in three sets. They'll play tomorrow. Don't have the schedule yet for time.  First question. 
Q. How do you think you played today? How do you think things shaped up for you? 
PATRICK RAFTER: I think you've got to put in it perspective a little bit. I'm pretty happy with the way it all went. The shoulder felt pretty good. You know, I missed a lot of easy stuff. That's just coming back. After I missed those easy shots, I just sort of look at myself and laugh. That's just part of coming back, probably the concentration. But I'm pretty happy with it overall.
Q. Would it be fair to say that you're still vulnerable on the court? If so, how much longer do you think it's going to take until you feel totally comfortable?
PATRICK RAFTER: Definitely vulnerable. It's still a day-to-day thing. I think if I can keep doing the sort of work that I'm doing, and keep hitting the balls and get the strength there, but also having my days off, you know, I think another really good month away. I think I'll be strong again. Then it's a matter of if I can deal with everything mentally.
Q. How is the serve? Are you serving the way you want to or is it 80 percent, 90 percent?
PATRICK RAFTER: I was very happy with the way I could pop the serve today. I  had good pace, pretty good direction on it. The only thing that I haven't been doing that I normally have done in the past is I've been doing half an hour serving every day. I've been keeping the rhythm up. When I go out to play matches, 95 percent of the time I'm going to serve a high percentage, I'm going to serve very well. That's the thing that I haven't been able to do. I just don't do the serving practice. That's something that's going to come in the next couple of months. "I'll be out there ready to go hard again"  
Q. Are you getting the same kick on the ball that you were?
PATRICK RAFTER: I don't think these courts are kicking as well as they have in the past. It's probably taking the slice better than the kick out there. I'm not taking this court as a gauge on how I can kick the serve.  
Q. I read somewhere that you were still holding back a little bit. Is that still the case?
PATRICK RAFTER: Last week I had to. It was far too cold. The conditions were a bit brutal there for me to go after my serve. I'm not in a position right now. If it feels a little bit sore, I'm not going to go out a hundred percent on it. Today I went pretty hard on it. We'll see how it pulls up tomorrow. I'm pretty confident it will pull up pretty well. 
Q. Alex Corretja in the next round.
PATRICK RAFTER: Yeah, mate. I'll be out there ready to go hard again. As I said in the last couple of weeks, we'll just see how I pull up in the morning. I'm pretty confident it will feel good in the morning. Another
really heavy day for serving. Listen, Alex is a great player. But I still think I have a very good chance of winning.
Q. All in all, is this the best day you've had back?
PATRICK RAFTER: Yeah, in a match situation it is. So far, yeah. Some of the practice days have been really good in the past, as well. But this is matches; it's different. Probably on the court in match situations, it's my best. 
Q. In your time off the circuit, what's the one thing that you miss the most
from being on the circuit?
PATRICK RAFTER: I didn't really miss anything. All I know is when I retire, it won't be too hard, I don't think (laughter). Put it this way: since I've been back on the tour, I've really had a good time. It's been great hanging
out with the guys, catching up with my mates, doing that. That's what I miss, in the locker room, having fun, the jokes. That's probably the thing that I probably did miss. But the grind and the travel is the part that I haven't missed. 
Q. To what degree did you miss the press conferences?
PATRICK RAFTER: I certainly didn't miss my Stars Programs, let's put it that way. 
Q. What are your expectations of yourself this year?
PATRICK RAFTER: They'll probably change throughout the year as it goes on; and my results, I don't know how they'll go. I've always said at the beginning of the year, if I can get through this year with having good weeks and maintaining a pretty respectable ranking, my shoulder to be healthy and strong, for it to be a hundred percent for next year, I think I'll be very happy if I can have an outcome like that at the end of this year.
Q. Ranking is unimportant? 
PATRICK RAFTER: Listen, I don't think it's really fair for me to put that sort of pressure on myself to maintain a Top-10 ranking. I'm just going to go out there and see what happens. 
At this stage, it's definitely health first. 
Q. Can you talk about the serve-and-volley, how a lot of people are saying it's impossible to be a top player playing exclusively serve-and-volley because of how big people are returning, the courts are slower.
PATRICK RAFTER: Today I think the court is a very fair court. I find it quite quick. I think it's a very nice court. I think you can play both styles of games on it. To be a serve-volleyer, you have to work very hard on it, it's very hard to develop at a young age. For me it was anyway. Listen, it's not necessarily going to be dead, but the tendency of the players these days is to stay back more, and the courts suit that in general. You know, you're always going to have your serve-volleyers out there making the game different. 
Q. Nice to see you back.
PATRICK RAFTER: Thank you.
END--FastScripts by ASAP Sports.

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Defeat By Agassi  6-4 6-4 Ericsson Open

ATP: Questions, please.
Q. How did you feel about your game today?
PATRICK RAFTER: I felt okay. The shoulder felt pretty good. It was difficult conditions out there. It was windy. It was pretty heavy conditions, quite sort of sluggish.
I hit the ball pretty well. I mixed it up pretty well. It was just very hard to get any rhythm out there. I think Andre struggled with that a little bit, as well. I was pretty happy.
Q. Where are you right now with the shoulder?
PATRICK RAFTER: The shoulder, yeah, it was really good. I was very happy with it this week. It's definitely been the best week for it.The conditioning, I can't give you an explanation on why I felt the way I did out there today. I felt very sluggish. I just couldn't find any strength really. I tried. I found it hard to breathe, get the air into the lungs. Yeah, it was a strange sort of day. I thought I was fit enough to last, but maybe not.
Q. Doing a lot of work from the back court.
PATRICK RAFTER: I was feeling good from the back. As I said, it was pretty slow. I was enjoying rallying out there with Andre. I think he found it hard to hurt me, as well, just because of the way the conditions were. It was hard to hit a winner out there.
Q. You had been quoted in Australian saying you're finding things a bit boring with the game, travel was getting to you. Could you comment on that, if things have changed now? 
PATRICK RAFTER: I think things have definitely changed. I'm enjoying the work. I'm enjoying doing the training again, seeing the results happen. It's still going to be a gradual process for me to get back into the 
tournament swing, as well. I still can't train as hard as I'd like to. But I think I'm a couple months away from that, and I think in a couple months I'll be back to full training and playing good tennis again.
But, you know, I'm quite happy with where I am right now.
Q. Do you play the next Davis Cup?
PATRICK RAFTER: Yeah, I go back for Davis Cup, then we'll see what happens from there.
Q. (Question regarding Davis Cup in Germany.)
PATRICK RAFTER: I'm pretty happy with the way it went. I'm very happy with this week. That's all I can really ask for right now. It's very difficult to play Andre. You know, even when I go out there, at best it's 50/50. I'm just happy to be out there playing again.I'd love to be there, still, but that's not the way it's going to be.
Davis Cup is Davis Cup. We all know what can happen in Davis Cup. There can be upsets. We're obviously the favorites. We're all going to go in with a very strong team. We're looking to beat you guys as hard as we can. But we still respect the team. We know it's still not going to be easy, because no Davis Cup match is ever easy. We're expecting a really good fight.
Q. Do you feel better now than you did at the beginning of the week as far as your play?
PATRICK RAFTER: Yeah, I'm feeling just good overall. The shoulder held up. It was a lot better than Indian Wells, that's for sure. I'm just hitting the ball better. I think it just gives me confidence now for the rest of the year - I hope anyway.
Q. Do you have any opinion about the issue with some nations regarding Davis Cup where some nations want -- there will be a link whether a player commits to Davis Cup and the Olympics? Do you have any feelings about that whole issue?
PATRICK RAFTER: I'm not quite sure. You're talking about the Olympics, in an Olympic year?
Q. In an Olympic year, right.
PATRICK RAFTER: Too much tennis, is that what you're saying?
Q. Yes.
PATRICK RAFTER: I guess it depends on how you structure your tournaments. I still think we can come up with a better schedule for the players, that's for sure. There's nothing like representing your country, I don't think. I know I enjoy it. I know a lot of other people do. But I still think there can be some work done on the structuring and timing of tournaments.
Q. Do you think players should be given some flexibility?
PATRICK RAFTER: You can't please everyone, I guess. That's the problem.
END--FastScripts by ASAP Sports...

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Defeating Max Mirnyi March 2000 ATP
Rafter def Max Mirnyi 6-4 6-2
ATP: Questions for Patrick. 
Q. How are you?
PATRICK RAFTER: Fine, thank you. It's been a while. It's been good not seeing you guys. 
Today was good. It was a little windy out there. I didn't try to overhit my serve at all. Just sort of got a lot of high percentage in, coming in for the volleys. Playing someone like Grosjean, whole different story next match.
Q. How is the shoulder?
PATRICK RAFTER: I generally get twinges when I fatigue, during the end of the match. This was an occasion that it didn't get that far into it. But the more I play, I think the stronger the shoulder is going to get and it is getting. I'm pretty happy with that.
Q. Is that as good as you felt since you've come back?
PATRICK RAFTER: That's probably as well as I've played, yeah. I was very happy with that. Sort of reminded me of the way I played against Philippoussis at the US Open. Same style of game. It's as good as I've moved, as well, since I've been here. Everything has just taken its time. It's just part of the course of getting back into it, I think.
Q. You're a pretty patient sort of bloke. Was there anytime when you got a bit worried about it?
PATRICK RAFTER: No, because I was enjoying my time off. I wasn't missing tennis at all. The thing that was sort of getting at me more than anything was the rehab and then the amount of travel I was doing. I didn't want to spend all the time down in Melbourne so I'd fly up to Queensland for three or four days, Sydney for three to four days, back down to Melbourne. I was traveling twice a week, which is more than what I do on the road. That was probably the main thing that was getting to me.
Q. Were you surprised that you didn't miss it or not?
PATRICK RAFTER: I was a little bit, yeah. I thought I would have missed it a lot more than that. But I got to do a few things that I really enjoyed doing. 
The training was very difficult to get motivated for. I had no goals. Even now, it's just starting to get back into it. My goals are to be fit for Davis Cup. I love playing Davis Cup. I'm working very hard toward that goal. If we can keep winning Davis Cup, I'll continue to have goals throughout the year, I think
Q. You're obviously moving forward quite well now. Looking back to Cincinnati when you started to get the problem with the shoulder --?
PATRICK RAFTER: It was the French Open. 
Q. -- Would you have done anything different after that?
PATRICK RAFTER: Well, definitely not the French Open. A lot of guys always get twinges in certain parts the body. This is a twinge I thought I could knock on the head. 
Going into Cincinnati, it was feeling pretty good. I started taking anti-inflammatory then pretty well for the first time, although I did take them in Boston for the Davis Cup. I went off them again for Montreal. That was pretty painful there. I thought, I'm going to take them again for Cincinnati because it was quite sore. 
Probably after Cincinnati was the time when I started feeling the pain. Even though I was taking anti-inflammatories, I think the damage was done. 
I took a week off and tried -- I played Indianapolis, I pulled out. I took the week off before the US Open. That probably should have been the time that I addressed it well and truly then.
Q. If the US Open hadn't been coming up, would you have been more cautious?
PATRICK RAFTER: Definitely, I think I would have taken the time off. I was playing well. I thought if I could just get through this, maybe the Davis Cup against Russia back in Queensland, I could take six weeks off before playing a couple tournaments and end the year with Davis Cup again. That's the way I was thinking.
Q. When you have this sort of time away to think about tennis and what have you, careers and life, do you sort of reassess your position and the things you're aiming for a little bit? Do you sit back and think that perhaps you want to go for different things?
PATRICK RAFTER: No. I sort of made my mind up anyway that I wanted to start doing very well in the Grand Slams, these big tournaments as well, the Masters Series. I think it's great how everyone is playing them this year. It makes it feel like a Grand Slam, so every match is very competitive and very tough. Also the Davis Cup, these events are sort of driving me, I guess. 
But while I was having that time off, you know, I didn't really reflect much. I just thought, What in the hell am I going to do if this thing doesn't get better? I wasn't getting too worried about it.
Q. Sorry to sound such a parochial Londoner, but what are you going to do about Queen's this year?
PATRICK RAFTER: Playing Halle.
Q. Is that still because you're pissed off about what happened?
PATRICK RAFTER: No. I played Halle last year and I really enjoyed it. It was probably more that I really had a great time there. 
You know, Queen's, I played it seven years in a row, but I am missing it this year again. I don't really know. Just Halle was a lot more attractive to me. Q. If that's what you like. 
PATRICK RAFTER: I'll be there for Wimbledon, though. I did enjoy my time at Queen's, no doubt about it.
Q. Don't need to make us feel better. 
PATRICK RAFTER: You make me feel really bad now (laughter).
Q. When you move like you did today, does it start to make you feel excited that it's starting to happen, or are you trying to contain that?
PATRICK RAFTER: I think I try to contain that because I know that the next day could be a bad day. I'm fully aware of that. I was very happy with the way I stroked the ball today. I've been hitting the ball well for the last week. I knew it was a matter of time before I started coming into my game. 
I guess today was just a result of a lot of work I've done on court with Rochey and a lot of off-court work. But the shoulder things is a day-by-day thing. I can wake up and it can be quite sore tomorrow, but I'm feeling really confident that it's not going to be. If I get a couple of back-to-back matches, that's when I can find it getting sorer and sorer a lot quicker.
Q. Regarding Davis Cup, there's now three of you vying for two singles places.
PATRICK RAFTER: What a great position that is right now. The way the new system works is that we may put three guys in and put a doubles guy in, and any one of us can play the doubles together. I know Mark and I have played a bit together. I think Lleyton has yet to show his full potential in doubles, and he's done well already. I still think he's very ready. Then you can chuck in the Woodies or Wayne Arthurs or whoever. That's the way I see it anyway. 
Q. What if you are the guy, "Sorry, Pat, you're sitting on the bench"? 
PATRICK RAFTER: That's fine by me. I can understand that. If I was fully fit, I might be a little upset, if I was playing well. But I can definitely take that and I'll be ready for the next one. 
Q. We all know your commitment to Davis Cup. We're not really meant to mention Davis Cup with Greg around. Could you ever envisage a circumstance in which you would be saying to yourself or refusing to make comment about availability for Davis Cup, that sort of thing?
PATRICK RAFTER: There's always -- there could always be something wrong that I'm not happy with, yeah. But while Newc and Rochey are in there, I'll always be available. I have a lot of respect for those guys. 
I can see how if someone came in that was really bad news to me, which I don't know if there is anyone out there in the Australian camp that I wouldn't be happy playing with anyway. 
I don't know what Greg's reason is for not playing the Davis Cup. But I'd like to think having someone like that, someone you didn't like or respect there, I still think you should be able to see through that. I'd like to think that I could see through all that and put my hand up and be available for Davis Cup, represent your country.
Q. Presumably you'd have to make that decision, "Am I playing for my captain or Australia?" 
PATRICK RAFTER: That's the way you've got to look at it. There's always little things. Maybe you being there, your presence, is a negative, as well. Maybe it's going to drag the rest of the team down.
Q. Do you suspect that Tennis Australia will ask the players their suggestions once Newc and Rochey go at the end of this year?
PATRICK RAFTER: I'd really like to think that we have an input on who becomes the next Davis Cup captain and coach, whether they take the two or whoever. I'd definitely like to be part of that anyway. We were with Newc and Roche. 
Q. When will that be done?
PATRICK RAFTER: I have no idea. I don't know. When is Davis Cup next year? Probably not until after the Lipton, I think the first match would be. It may be addressed by Junior Aussie Open. I remember we did it last time with Newc and Roche. They set us all down. I'm presuming probably the same time. 
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Davis Cup Dissection: Pat talks with Fitzy 10 April 2000 (Eloise Moss -  oncourt.com)
Fitzy: He's very close to being back at his best. He lost to Andre Agassi in a tough two setter in Miami and, from all reports, he's not very far away. How do you feel you are moving along?

Rafter: The biggest thing for me is to make sure the shoulder stays strong and it can last for the next couple of years.Fitzy: He was at the Davis Cup dinner last night and Craig Willis who was our MC mentioned that the Brisbane Lions had just beaten the Adelaide Crows and there was only one "Yahoo" in the whole audience and I think it was Pat Rafter.

Rafter: I think I lost a lot of fans in Adelaide, mate. There's no better feeling (than being in Davis Cup). I think it's the same with all the footy guys as well. It's a great feeling being out there and hanging with the boys, playing and winning with all your mates. I think that's what Davis Cup is all about _ playing for your country. There's not a bigger honour in tennis to play Davis Cup.

Fitzy: Pat, take us through the weekend. It's been, in the end a convincing win, although after winning 3-0 it could so easily have been 2-1 down. It just needed a few less double faults by David Prinosil on the first day against Wayne Arthurs and we could have been in a little bit of trouble.

Rafter: Oh mate, whenever you play Davis Cup you never know what you're going to get. Prinosil's a pretty accomplished player and he brought out all his big weapons against Wayne. Then again in the doubles, the boys starting serving really big again and Mark and I had to sit back and wait for our turn to get back into the match. That's what Davis Cup's all about. Being up 3-0, having had a close call in the past, mainly we've been able to get on top of them and not let them get on top of us. That's what's very important about trying to win these matches.

Fitzy: Pat's been on the spot and he perhaps knows Wayne's game as well as anyone but it's tough to complain when one of your players has played three times for you and he's yet to go down. He's won all three matches. A couple of them have been tight, but his (Arthurs) form wasn't as good as it was in Brisbane last year, I thought his technique on the serve is so good, it never seems to break down. I thought the rest of his game in Adelaide wasn't as good as it was in Brisbane, Pat.

Rafter: Yeah, I think he had a lot of confidence in the Brisbane tie last year. He had a really good Wimbledon, he had a pretty good US Open as well. The court was a bit harder and he was able to serve a lot better and return a lot better on it. This court played a lot lower, he didn't enjoy the bounce as much. But when you can win when you're not playing that great, that's a great thing to happen. He's definitely a big contender to start in Brisbane when we play on grass against Slovakia or Brazil.

Fitzy: He's very much a grasscourter though, isn't he? He's a bit of a throw-back really. A typical grasscourt player. Mark Philippoussis is a big component in the team. But having Pat back, I think the relief from the Australian players as a whole was enormous and it's justified. He's been the leader of this team over the last three years and it was like a cruel twist of fate last year when he couldn't take part in that final when he'd done so much to get them there. If you've got strength like that in the team it would be harder for Wayne to play singles but on grass he's always a contender.

Rafter: The thing that I can't get too uptight about is to make that my only goal (Davis Cup). It's definitely the No.1 priority but I'd like to win another Grand Slam, whether it's Wimbledon or wherever I can take it actually. The Davis Cup thing, I try to put out of my head, so it doesn't always come. There's a lot of pressure. As for the French_I wouldn't put money on me, mate. A lot depends on the weather there in France whether I'm going to play well. But I'm really happy with my shoulder. I wouldn't put any money on me at the French, but if I play at Wimbledon I'll be right. 

Fitzy: The great thing about Pat yesterday was, that, this was a great way to ease himself back into Davis Cup. Intense type of competition, there was a big crowd here, a lot of pressure. He served heavier than anyone else on the court and that's a really encouraging sign for him because that's what's been really worrying him. He hasn't tried to overdo the serve, he's been serving within himself over the last few months, but yesterday was a big step forward.

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Five Questions With Jonas Bjorkman and Patrick Rafter  -Andrea Leand Aug 98

Question. : How did a Swede and an Aussie come to pair in doubles ?

Patrick : We got to know each other well on the satellite circuit (in 1992). We had a lot in common. Neither of us were backed by our country's federations, so we had to tough it out in the satellites and make it on our own.
Jonas : We were both late bloomers and about the same age - some thought too old to make it. 
Because we were kind of overlooked by our federations, we had something to prove. It was really tough, but we stuck together and had fun. And now it's great. We both have made our move into the Top 10 singles rankings at the same time.

Question. : Do the Aussies and Swedes have the same mentalities, or were you brought up differently ?

Patrick : The Aussies and Swedes have traditionally been very team-oriented. We like to be with our mates, hang out and practice together, not like the Americans who do individual things. Jonas and I got along quite well because we had the same mentality.
Jonas : On the satellite tour, Pat fit right in with the rest of the Swedes. We'd share hotel rooms sometimes to cut down on expenses, and we would watch each other's matches. That's also where Pat and I played doubles together for the first time.

Question. : But you seem to have different personalities. Is Pat more talkative and outgoing and 
Jonas more quiet when you play doubles ?

Patrick : No, not really. Jonas is pretty talkative. In fact, he is very talkative. He says what he thinks.
Jonas : I probably talk more than Pat. But usually I'm just talking out loud to myself and Pat just shakes his head. We have the same priorities and agree that our singles comes first right now because we've both worked so hard to break into the top. But we work well as a team and think a lot alike.

Question. : Jonas, does that mean that you are going to grow a ponytail like Pat's, or is he going to shave his hair short like yours ?

Patrick : I'm definitely not shaving my hair.
Jonas : And I'm definitely not growing a ponytail. We have to make sure that the fans can tell us apart. You know, who is the real stud.

Question. : Why do you think that there are more top men pros playing doubles now ?

Patrick : I really wanted to play doubles because it helps my singles. It's a great way to keep sharp and confident. If you lose early in singles, you still have the doubles. I lost early in the singles at Indian Wells, but Jonas and I won the doubles, so that really helped my confidence going into the next tournament.
Jonas : And tennis can be lonely if you play just singles. We both play lots of tournaments each year and are on the road a lot, so it's nice to play doubles with someone who is a good friend, even if he has a weird accent.

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Serve And Volley on Clay is Exhausting  L'Equipe May 26 1999. Translated by Carien 
The double US Open champion is the king of attack. He explains here the technical and mental limitations of playing serve-volley on clay.
Patrick Rafter delighted Roland Garros two years ago when he qualified for the semi-finals by keeping on coming to the net, either behind his serve or behind his return of serve. He again shows his immense talent for this type of game in Rome, where he reached the finals, and at the World Team Cup of Dusseldorf where he was the "maitre d'oeuvre" of  the victory for Australia. His successes inspired two other big attackers whom have passed the first rounds on Monday: Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski. He reveals here the secrets of his art, so difficult to execute on the clay facing the armada of baseline players. 
Q: what are the necessary conditions for your serve-volley play to be maximally effective? 

PR : I need warm and dry weather which speeds up the conditions of the court which allow me to develop a good attacking play.

Q : What sort of adjustments do you make with respect to the faster surfaces ?

PR : On clay, you are more vulnerable on the second serves. So you have to hit a maximum of first serves. Don't try to hit the first serve as hard as usual, but rather try to create a small margin of safety by varying lots the direction and effects. Because the clay is a surface which « takes » well effects. It is important not to look for the ace, but to hit a return which is difficult to play for the opponent in order to perform the first volley in good conditions. Like that, you have a chance to finish a point straight away. It is thus vital to know that on 
clay, one does not get a point in two shots on your serve. So you have to be ready to hit two or three volleys in a go, which equally multiplies the occasions to be passed. 

Q : To play a serve-volley game on clay is thus harder physically than on the other surfaces.

PR : A lot harder. It can even be exhausting. First, it's not easy to have a good grip on clay. It's a surface on which you slide : at the net as on the baseline, you have to control your slides. Further, as I said before, you have to be ready to play two or three volleys in a row, which means that that you have to keep your knees bent longer. All of that really exerts the knees, thigh muscles and also the back. People always say that the clay is good for the joints and the back because the surface is not has hard as cement, but for me, it's the most 
restricting because of the length of play efforts. 

Q: Is it also more mentally tiring to play serve-volley on clay?

PR: Yes, unless you're ready to accept, before going on to the court, that you will be loosing quite a few points because of taking risks, and you have to realise that you will have to fight hard to win your service games. On the faster surfaces, all good serve-volleyers know that they win quite a few easy service games and they can then give all they have on the return of serve. On clay, that's different…

Q: What do you work on in training leading up to Roland-Garros?

PR: Essentially, the serve-volley and return-volley sequences. That might surprise you, but I've always been taught that one has to work more on one's strong points than on the weaknesses. I work as much as I can to perform even better. 

Q: There are less and less serve-volleyers on the tour. Do you think that the fact that your opponents are less used to your type of game is an advantage?

PR: Yes, it can be an advantage against certain players. That's partly why I have been able to get to the semi-final at Roland Garros in 1997 and this year in Rome's final. It's also by surprise that Todd Martin won in Barcelona last year and played the final in Estoril this year. 

Q: Can you change tactics when need be and play like the clay court specialists?

PR: Not really, but I know other things than serve-volley. I can return, hit passing shots, I can hold up in baseline rallies and I have a good slice backhand with which I can hit an approach shot and come to net if I cannot follow through my serve. All of that does not keep me from praying for sunshine during the two weeks of Roland Garros.

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